Splice bar



March 9 1926. I 1,576,407

G. BROSHEARS SPLICE BAR Filed Oct. 16, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l 9 durle yli'roshears' I I 'NVENTOR March 9 1926. 1,576,407

a. BROSHEARS SPLICE BAR 'Filed Oct. 16, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I v G'urlqy firohe r zi EQQWMQA.

ATI'ORNEY WITNESS:

Patented Mar. 9, 1925.

tense? GURLEY BRGSH-EARS, 0F NEWBURG, INDIA-NA.

SPLICE Application filed October 16, 1925. Serial No. 62,927.

To aZZ 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUnLnY Bnosrrnnns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newburg, in the county of VVarrick and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Splice Bars, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention has reference to rail joints, and my object is the construction of means for connecting the meeting ends of railway rails which afford as much strength at the joint as throughout the body of the rail, if not more so and which will positively prevent the rails from vertical movement in either direction, from canting and from creeping or longitudinal movement to an ex tent which will interfere with the necessary expansion and contraction of the rails.

A further object is the provision of a rail joint in which the webs at the confronting ends of the rails are slotted longitudinally, and the sides of the webs are formed with flanges that align with said slots, a bolt carrying bridge or key plate being received in the aligning slots and having its sides, flush with the outer surfaces of the flanges, while fish plates or like connecting bars are provided on their inner faces with pockets to snugly receive therein the flanges and to hold the bridge or wedge member in proper supporting position between the rails, the bolts and the wedge or bridge member passing through the usual bolt openings in the fish plates while additional bolts also connect the fish plates to the rails.

To the attainment of the foregoingn'efen once is tobe had to the d 'awings which accompany and form part of this application.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of two railway rails connected in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a similar view with one of the fish plates removed.

Figure 3 is a sectional View on the line 33 of liigure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the fish plates.

Figure 5 is a similar view ofthe rails.

Figure 6 is a similar view of the key or bridge plate.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numerals 1 designate the meeting ends of two railway rails. The rails are of the usual construction, butthe webs of the said rails, from the abutting ends thereof, are

slotted longitudinally. The'inner Walls provided by these slots are rounded, and the webs may have swaged, welded, 0r integrally formed on their outer faces flanges 3 that surround the said openings and, of course, correspond to the shape thereof. The openings, for distinction indicated by the numeral i in Figure 5, are designed to have snugly received therein a bridge or key plate 5. The plate has its ends rounded and contacts with all the walls provided by the opening. The plate is also of a width, corresponding to the pockets in the rails provided by the opening a and the flanges 23. V The plate 5 's either formed with or has secured on the sides thereof outwardly extending bolts 6 arranged in pairs.

In the showing of the drawings, I have illustrated ordinary angle members in the nature of fish plates 7 that are secured in the fishing spaces of the rails. Each of the plates 7 has its inner face centrally foamed with a pocket 8 that corresponds in shape to the flanges 3 on the rails 1, and in this pocket the said flanges are snugly received. The inner wall provided by the pocket contacts with the outer surfaces of the flanges 3 and the sides of the plate The inner wall of thepocket is also provided with openings 9 that receive the bolts 6 therethrough, and there are screwed on the said bolts the usual nuts. The plate 7 is, adjacent to its ends, provided with other bolt openings 10, that register with bolt openings in the webs of the rails 1, and there are passed through these aligning openings the ordinary bolts which are engaged by the usual nuts.

A rail joint constructed and connected, as above described, is of a strength equal, if not greater, than that of the body por tions of the rails. The joint will positively prevent vertical movement of the connected rails in either direction and will likewise prevent the independent canting of onerail with respect to the other rail. will, of course permit such independent longitudinal movement of the rails as is necessary in the expansion and contraction thereof.

Having described the invention, I claim Two railway rails having their base flanges at the meeting ends thereof slotted longitudinally, outstanding flanges on the webs of the rails surrounding the slots therein, a bridge plate snugly received in the slots The joint and of a width corresponding to that of the flanges, oppositely directed bolt members projecting from the bridge plate, fish plates and each of said fish plates havinga pocket on the inner face thereof to receive the flanges therein and to contact with the sldesof the bridge plate, the bolts on the bridge plate passing through the fish plates, other bolts also passing through the fish plates and through the webs of the rails and nuts 16 screwed on the bolts.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature.

GUR-LEY BROSHEARS; 

